


Interlude

by VILBUR



Series: mcyt one-shots [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Dream Smp, Gen, Headcanon, I Tried, Platonic Relationships, Probably ooc, The InBetween - Freeform, Time Travel, Time Traveller Ranboo, Time traveller Karl Jacobs, Web Series: Tales from the SMP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29535204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VILBUR/pseuds/VILBUR
Summary: "In a strange way, it almost seemed nostalgic, homely if you will, despite having no tangible recollection of any places like this."--Karl finds himself wandering an unknown yet familiar castle and encounters someone he certainly hadn't expected to see yet didn't quite have a reason not to.
Relationships: Karl Jacobs & Ranboo
Series: mcyt one-shots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127396
Comments: 5
Kudos: 79





	Interlude

**Author's Note:**

> Do I think the time traveller Ranboo theory as a whole is plausible? Yes, but do I think this specific hc is? Not really, I just think it's a cool idea, will explain more at the end, enjoy!!  
> (I'm so bad at titles, sorry)

Somewhere in the furthest recesses of his mind, he was aware he wasn’t quite sure where he was, yet something about the place he currently roamed silenced any such questions the moment they arose, instead glancing around in awe at the magnificent porcelain white hallways and pillars, almost blinding in hue yet pleasant enough that one couldn’t quite bring themself to look away. In a strange way, it almost seemed nostalgic, homely if you will, despite having no tangible recollection of previously traipsing such a building.

Apparitional figures passed him by as he wandered aimlessly through the labyrinth-like structure, all resembling him down to the tiniest details yet never acknowledging him or any others they came across, deadset in the direction they were already headed in and seemingly content in that. Strange, yes, but yet again his brain seemed to disregard it as such almost as if it was protecting itself from whatever mental dilemma such queries could bring about.

Eventually, Karl encountered a slight dash of colour in the endless ivory landscape, a quaint courtyard surrounded by tall pillars and archways with the golden hues of an early sunset just about able to stream in from above, shrouding the area in even more of an angelic hue than it already possessed on its own. A winding birch tree stood in the centre on a patch of vibrant emerald grass, branches crooked in the most elegant sense of the word and leaves so pale and delicate they appeared near incorporeal, dancing softly in the near nonexistent breeze. A swing set stood before it, wooden and sturdy, more pristine than any he’d encountered previously yet familiar for once more unknown reasons.

Despite how incurious this place seemed to have made him, something finally managed to catch his attention more than simply in passing, such attention diverted at the figure sitting idly on the swing furthest from him. While there were many silhouettes walking nearby that by now had simply faded into the background, this one was different, this one wasn’t him and that was the thing he finally found peculiar, disregarding anything else that could’ve seemed amiss within his proximity.

Even sitting down, he could tell they were significantly taller than him, having to slouch at a noticeable angle to sit comfortably. Their outfit consisted of whites and greys, much like those around them, yet instead of being an intentionally mismatched hoodie it was a formal suit, original hues unknown as of yet, hair being the only thing currently visible that stopped them from blending into the background completely, half being a similar shade to every tile neatly laid out across the floors and the other jet black, a drastic shift in comparison. Overall, definitely not another copy of himself.

They seemed to be doing something in front of them, able to just about see a book as he stepped a tad closer. It appeared they were writing something, motions slow and drawn out as if they weren’t in any particular rush to finish whatever it was, face now partially visible causing at least some part of his mind to venture back into reality to decipher who they were, vaguely recognising them as Ranboo, but what was he doing here? What even was this place?

The boy noticed his presence before he found a means to vocalise it (how long had he been staring?) Slipping the pen into his pocket and closing the book before gesturing towards the second swing, neither turning to greet him or uttering a word, gaze instead wandering to the tree, flickering from branch to branch yet not quite acknowledging what he was looking at, mind elsewhere but perfectly content with that.

After a moment or two of hesitation, not quite out of fear but more confusion, Karl took the short venture between him and the swing set, sitting tentatively in the unoccupied one and turning his head to the boy, offering him a slight warm grin, intending on at the very least making a positive impression considering how little he’d interacted with him in the past. In fact, had they interacted? He wasn’t quite sure, timelines muddling together in his memory leaving him unable to tell if he had or not “Hey, Ranboo.”

“Hi…” He seemed distant yet at the same time calculated, too caught up in his own thoughts to fully execute such calculations but not enough that he was an unpleasant person to talk to. With most people, that would’ve been a red flag, but it didn’t seem as if whatever he was pondering over was at all dangerous, he seemed trustworthy as if he was simply afraid of messing up “You’re Karl, right?”

“Mhm,” He hummed, digging the toes of his sneakers into the dirt while still being conscious not to damage anything, propelling himself gently so he swung forward, lazily swinging his legs on rhythm to keep moving but not so dramatically it’d be startling. He was trying not to stare but his gaze kept on wandering regardless, still in confusion as to what this place was let alone how he’d gotten here as well, why he was any more real than the carbon copies of himself shuffling around in the corners of his vision, mustering up a tone as lighthearted as he could as to not sound accusatory “Why are you here? Do you know what this place is?”

“I find myself here from time to time, I think I used to know why.” There was something almost wistful about the way he said it, longing for something even he couldn’t legibly recall, resting his head against the cold metal chain and closing his eyes, peaceful in the fading honey tinted light “I’m not sure where we are, but it hasn’t hurt me yet, I don’t mind it.”

It somehow came across as Ranboo both being completely honest and knowing more than he let onto, unable to quite decipher the entity sat beside him no matter how hard he wracked his hazy mind. By now it was rather well known that the boys memory was lacklustre at times, a trait he found himself dealing with as well, yet he never stopped to consider the similarities, never even began to ponder the possibility he was like him.

“Looks like it’s my time to go.” Ranboo muttered softly, standing from the swing he’d been sat on not quite abruptly but noticeable enough it snapped the other boy from his thoughts and consequently stilling his own swing, taller boy stretching his limbs in an almost cat-like manner before diverting his attention back to Karl, holding his book out towards him, expression gentle and innocuous “It’s for you.”

Cautiously, he took the book from his slack grasp, rather startled when the moment it left the boys hand he vanished, leaving nothing but a few lingering violet fragments flitting through the open-air momentarily before fizzling out of existence as well, Karl left staring bewildered at the space he’d formerly occupied trying to decipher what just happened there.

Once he’d managed to pull himself at least partially from his shocked state, his attention drifted to the light-weight leatherbound book now in his possession, escribed with the simple phrase ‘To Karl, By Ranboo’ foreboding in a sense it probably wasn’t intended to be, hesitant to even open it despite it quite literally having his name on it. Despite his initial aversion, his curiosity managed to get the better of him, bracing himself as if it were much more than the simple task of turning a page.

On the first page resided a singular sentence of text, bold in the sea of empty space which the rest of the page around it appeared to be, delicately inked in some of the neatest handwriting he’d ever laid his eyes upon ‘You’re almost there, I’m so proud of you, soon you’ll achieve what I failed to do for myself.’

A further 86 pages lay beyond it, but from what he could tell, they all appeared to be empty, perhaps due to a printing error, or possibly something he just wasn’t seeing yet. But such things didn’t appear to phase him, too caught up in solidifying his theories from the information he’d just acquired, oblivious of what could’ve possibly been forged into its final pages.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the idea that Ranboo used to time travel but it got to the point where while conscious in the present timeline he doesn't recall any of it. He still travels sometimes, but he doesn't remember it and only has anywhere near full clarity of all his memories in the inbetween where he can recall things from travelling, his enderwalk state and present-day dsmp. He can see Karl going down the same route he did and his only direct communication with him most of the time is the books so he's trying to stop him from making the same mistakes as he did.
> 
> Literally just a stupid idea I had at 3am after the wild west tales ep merged with a concept from just after the masquerade one, I really don't know at this point.
> 
> Probably OOC bc 1- I cannot write. 2- still can't write lol hi 
> 
> Twitter - @RANB0X (I post big brain stuff sometimes i swear, I don't only miss Ranboo or anything)


End file.
